Controllable air supply for cleaners of threshers and the like



Feb. 3, 1942. R, m 2 2,272,148

CONTROLLABLE AIR SUPPLY FOR CLEANERS 0F THRESHERS AND THE LIKE ori in-a1 Filed July'l, 1935 Gttorneg Q 3nnentor I the cleaning vdevice.

tion of air to the various parts Of'the cleaning device produces insufficient and unsatisfactory Patented F ab. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES T NT orrlce CONTROLLABLE AIR SUPPLY Fonoilnlms ERS F THRESHERS AND HE LIKE Walter R. Dray, Kendall Township, Kendall County, Ill., assignor to Allis-Chalmers Manu-' facturing Company, Milwaukee, 'Wis., a corporation of Delaware Original application July 1, 1935, Serial, No; I 29,216. Divided and this application June 29, x 1940, SCIiaIlNO. 343,123 i Y 9 Claims. (or 209 154 This invention relates in general to improvements in apparatus for supplyinga controllable ers and harvester-'threshers, it'iscustornary to provide-an air fan or blowerdriven from some operating mechanism of'the apparatus, to fur.- nish a supply of air to a cleaning device, usually ofthelshaking screen type, forthe purpose of:

floating of blowing dust and the lighter chaff out of the grain during the cleaning operation. It is highly desirable that this air supplied to the cleaning device be of uniform "pressure across the full width of the cleaning device in order to prevent eddying and whirling or channeling of the air, effects which hinder the satisfactory cleaning of the grain. The required volume or pressure of air for most efiicient cleaning of the grain on the cleaning screens, so as not to blow away and waste any grain, but still remove a maximum of dust and lighterchafl which would VeSter-threshingmachine and like purposes. The v otherwise pass through the screens, will vary with conditions, suchas the character of the crop, moisture, the amount or dust and chaff in' the'grain, and the direction and velocity of the wind, where the apparatus is operated out of doors, as in the case of a harvester-thresher' or 1 a stationary thresher.

Certain of the prior art devices for. furnishing a controllable supply of air for cleaning .pur-

poses provide a controlling valve in the passage from the fan or other source for supplying air to the cleaning device, so as to vary the amount of air supplied to the cleaning device; but these controlling valves have heretofore been'such that, whilecapable of controlling the volume of air,

' nevertheless, they introduce, at least when partly open, undesirable efiects of eddying and whirling and channeling of the air in the discharge passage, and do not permit uniformity'of dis tribution of air and the pressure thereof through-- out the full cross section of the discharge passage beyond the valve, i. e., the air supplied to And this uneven distribucleaning of the grain or seed. v

The present invention contemplates the provision of an adjustably controlled supply of air or the like for use in connection WithOIflDPliCHJiiOIl conduit. I

this design of controlling device in the conduit supplying air to a grain cleaning device is to provide a stream of air sweeping across the cleaning to thecleaning of grain in a threshing or hardesired'results are best attained in accordance with, the present invention by providing a controlling valve device in'the conduit from a source of air supply, this valve being of such design that the volume of air supplied from the source may be Varied between a maximum'andminimum,

' whilefatthesame time insuring that the air in the discharge conduit beyond the valve, which is supplied to the grain'cleaning deviceor the like,

is at the desired'unif orm pressure throughout the full cross section of'the discharge, conduit, rather than'channeling or eddying along'one or both side portions or an intermediate portion of the And the operating result of utilizing device at a desired uniform and controllable pressure throughout the ,full width of the cleaning device;

It isan'object of the present invention to provide an improved design and construction of ap 'paratus for supplying a controlled'volume of air tor cleaning threshed grain in a separating mechanism of a threshing machine, orrlike purpose, and one wherein the volume of air may I be controlled between maximum and minimum values and .at the same time be supplied in a stream of uniform pressure throughout the full cross section of the air supply'passage. It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved designand construction of controlling apparatus vof this charactenincliiding an air supply conduit having a controlling valve" device associated therewithand operative in its.

various controlling positions between maximum and minimum open conditions to insure that the air in the conduit at the discharge side of the device is of substantially uniform .pressure throughout the full cross sectional area of the air stream with the valve device in any of its positions of adjustment.

It isa further object of this inventionto provide an improved design andconstructionof controlling apparatus of the above character where- I in the valvedevice includes a plurality-of cooperative pivoted valve elements within the supply conduit and which in the various partial open positions of the valve device define a passage one dimension, of which is substantially equal to the corresponding dimension of the I conduitand a second'dimension, at'right angles to'the firstdimension, which is greater than one-half of the corresponding dimension of the conduit.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel design and construction of controllin apparatus of the above character wherein the valve device comprises a plurality of pivoted leaf elements having cooperative edge portions of deeply indented outline and so arranged that the indentations of each valve element may be substantially closed by the intermediate projections or teeth formed by the indentations of the other valve element, the opening through the cooperative valve elements extending throughout substantially the full extent of one dimension of the conduit and a major portion of another dimension of the conduit, at right angles to the first dimension, throughout the full range of control of the valve device from maximum tominimum open conditions thereof.

These and other objects and advantages are attained by the present invention, various novel features of which will be apparent from the description and accompanying drawing, disclosing an embodiment of features of the invention, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmental vertical sectional view of a harvester-thresher including a grain cleaning device with air control therefor embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental view in elevation of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view in the plane of the I line IIIIII of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, wherein there are shown parts of a harvester-thresher, such as is disclosed in the above mentioned parent application, a main support for the apparatus may be in the form of a steel tube In extending trans-- versely of the normal direction of travel of the apparatus, and carrying journals for the supporting and traction wheels II. On the support I is mounted a supporting framework carrying a supporting and enclosing housing for the threshing mechanism and a housing I5 for the separating mechanism, the latter communicating with the discharge side of the housing for the threshing mechanism and extending transversely thereof. A grain storage bin It may be mounted on the frame forwardly of the separator housing I5.

A rotatable cylinder, indicated generally at 8| comprises a plurality of spaced annular members or disks 83 with peripheral flanges thereon turned over at right angles to the planes of the disks, as indicated at 84. Secured to the peripheral flanges 84 of the disks 83 are a plurality of spaced thresher bars 85, preferably in the form of sections of angle iron, one flange portion of each bar being secured to the flanges 84 of the disks 83 and the other substantially radially extending flange portions of the thresher bars serving as the active threshing elements of the cylinder. The threshing bars of the cylinder cooperate, during rotation of the latter, with the threshing elements of a stationary concave disposed below and in relatively close proximity to the cylinder.

The stalks and the threshed grain removed therefrom by the action of the threshing mechanism are forced rearwardly, across the full width of the threshing cylinder and housing therefor, into a separator housing I5, through the adjacent wall thereof; and the straw and grain are discharged from the cylinder housing with considerable force, due to relatively high speed of the cylinder and the fan effect thereof.

In order to maintain the separating mechanism of minimum length and to insure utilization of the separating action of the latter throughout its full length, one or more guiding baffles I02 curving toward the forward end of the separator housing are shown mounted on and depending from the roof of the separator housing into the path of material projected upwardly and rearwardly from the threshing cylinder. These baffles I02 preferably extend to gradually increasing distances tranversely of the separating chamber, and may be of gradually increasing height, toward the discharge end of the separator housing, in order to secure the desired baffling and guiding effect. The material discharged from the cylinder housing strikes these baffles and is guided thereby toward the forward end of the separator housing and drops down on the adjacent end portion of the separating mechanism, permitting utilization of the separating action of the latter on the straw throughout the full length of the separator.

The forward end wall of the separating housing I5 may be provided with a transversely extending baflle I02a extending across substantially the full portion of the width of the housing and extending downwardly at an angle. This baflle I02a serves to deflect onto the forward end of the separating mechanism grain and straw particles projected against the forward end wall, thus preventing pieces of straw from passing downwardly between the end of the rack and the adjacent wall of the separator housing. This bafiie I02a. may be mounted on a portion of this end wall which is hinged or otherwise removably secured in position, so as to permit, on removal of the detachable portion, inspection of the rack and discharge portions of the threshing cylinder housing.

The separator housing I5 is provided with devices for shaking the straw and recovering threshed grain therefrom, these devices including a straw shaking rack extending the full length and approximately the full width of the separator housing. The straw rack includes a frame I 03, comprising longitudinal side members and connecting bars at the ends thereof, and is of dimensions approximating the inner dimensions of the separator housing.

This rack is provided with a series of spaced slats extending transversely of the length of the housing and carried by the frame I03. As indicated, these slats are arranged in two series, the slats I04 of one series alternating with the slats )5 of a second series.

The rack is mounted in operative position to provide for the desired oscillating or shaking motion through a link or set of links II2 pivoted to the forward end of the frame I03 and the end wall of the separator housing, and through oscillating shaking arms or levers II3, one at each side of the separator housing, mounted on journal pins II 4 carried by the housing. The upper ends of these shaking levers II3 are connected to pins II5 on the outer side walls of the frame I03 and passing through arcuate slots H6 in the side walls of the housing. With the rack mounted or swung on the rear supporting links I I2 and the upper ends of the shaking arms II3, the rack as a whole is given the desired vibrating or shaking motion through oscillation of the shaking arms II3.

2,272,148 I I In order to augment thenormal separating ispaced transverse raking'bars I38 extending beaction of the straw rack, auxiliary shaking de-. vicesare provided, in the form of a pluralityof longitudinally extending and spwed shaker arms :'I I8, these arms being disposed above and adja 1 cent the upper surface of the rack slats, and

preferably slightly spaced from the latter, the

, tween and connectingthechains.

upper edges of these arms being serrated in such fashion as to assist'in' advancing any straw restarator housing, and the arms being inclined to-: -ward each other in the direction of travel {of the straw. The discharge ends of the shaker arms are preferably provided with upwardl'yfextending tail-like projections 811, the raised dis charge ends of these projections being considerably spaced from the body of the straw rack so These shaker arms I I8 have a lateral motion across'the rack about pivotal points, ina fashion ing thereon toward the'discharge endof the Sep -{10 The sprockets for the grain drag'are so disposed relative to the bottom wall I32 of the sepa-v rator housing and the plate I3 4 that the upper course of the drag brushes over the upper sur- 0 face of the plate I34 and the lower course of the dragibrushes over the upper surface of the'bottom wall I32 of the housing. Hence, grain falling on the plate I34 is carried forwardly along'the plate by'the' movement of the grain drag and corresponding to the movement of a fishs tail.,

As indicatedthe shaker arms are pivoted or hinged, as indicated at 9, to the forward edges of bars or arms I secured to certain of the transverse slats or bars carried by the rack frame. The uppereclgesof these} bars I20 are inclined upwardly graduallyfrom the level of the upper surfaces of the rack slats tothe level of'the rear edge of the upper surface; of the'shaker arms I I8.

; I \The desired sidewise oscillation of the shaker arms I I8 may besecured through suitable actuat-' ing mechanism not disclosed herein.

f In the normal operation of the apparatus straw and grain threshed therefrom, through the action of the threshing mechanism, are fed or blown by the latter into the separator housing, being deposited uponth'eforward end thereof. Through the normal shaking action of therack, this straw i and grains are advanced rearwardly along the rack, that is, in thefdirection of discharge from v the separator housing, the grain, along with relatively short pieces. of straw falling through the spaces between the rack slats as the straw'is advanced. The straw advancing along the rack throughthe normal oscillatory movement thereof, or at least the greater portion ofgthe straw,

ting down of the straw on the rack in'such a {manner as to impede the passage of thresh'ed grain'or seeds through the straw. The straw continues to advance over the pivoted shaker arms and the rack and to the discharge end of' the I rack,iand it is forced over the dischargeend directly into the field or is conveyed through a suitable rigid or flexible conveyer to a. desired point. of discharge.

During operation of the straw rack, threshed 7 grain and some chaff dropping through the e spaces between the slats I04, I05, fall onto the bottom plate I32 of the separator housing, and onto a plate I34 secured to the side walls of the housing adjacent the discharge end thereof.. A grain drag or rake I35 of conventional design is provided within the separator housing below the straw rack, this drag or rake including a pair of endless chains one at each side of the housing andpassing over driving sprockets on a driving shaft I36 and over sprockets 'at the front end of thehousing mounted on a shaft I31, with drops'ofi the forward edge of the plate, all or; a portion falling onto the'rear edge of the bottom wall I32 of the housing. And all of the grain falling onto the bottom wall I32 of thehousing is carried by the drag to the rear edge --of the 100mm wall where it is brushed off into a discharge pan or chute I40 whence it is free to dis chargeby gravity t a fanning orcle'aning de- ViC I41. Y

- The cleaning'device I4I may be o2 thefanning l 'rnill type and is disposed in a housing I42 depending from the separator housing and open to the latter housingbelowpthe plate I34. The

cleaning device comprises a'frame l l3in which is mounted a plurality of superposed and space'd and preferably removable screens I45 whosenormal position is such that the'olischarge ends of the screens are inclined upwardly to a'slight extent from the horizontal plane.-'- Grain and short pieces of straw passing through the rack flow from the discharge 'chute- I lil' onto the forward portion ofthe upper screen, a de'p'ending baifle I46 mounted at the under'sid'e'of-the 'platef l34 being disposed beyond the discharge end of the chute I40 to prevent material from being blown or thrown toward the 'vjdischarg e end of: the

" screen. I

The cleaning device is suspended throughone or more links I41 pivotally attached toflthe rear portion of the frame I43'andthe side walls of the housing and pins M8 on the sides of the frame passing through arcuate slots I49 in the housing and pivotally mounted in bearing portions I50 1 on the shakingarms' or levers I3. As'the shakting arms II3 oscillate during operation this oscillatory or shaking motion is imparted, through '7 the pinsfhtii, to the cleaning device and the screensthereofb Through thelshaking motion of the screens, threshed grain passes, through one after another of "the superposed Escreens, falling "onto the bottom wallof-the'housing, I42,' thelatter constitutinga :grain'receiving panhaving portions sloping downwardly toward the center to a well I52 which constitutes the casing orhous- I ingfor a transversely extending screw conveyer Ventilating' means 'are provided for assisting in thefseparating'and cleaning action f of the This ventilating-or air supplying means includes ;a fan I56 of conventional form-mounted on a shaft lfil and di'eposed' within a casinglg58 integral with orcarried by the'sepacleaning device.

.rator housing} The inletto thej fanis in an axial and the discharge is "substantially tangential direction; ie., through the ends of the casing,

through a conduit or passage I59 of substantially rectangular cross section discharging into the housing Hi2 of the cleaning device at'the forward; ends of the screens. The discharge from the fan i'sfcontrollable as to volume of air passed therethrough .by a valve device disposed inthe discharge-passage. I

This. valve device the form of two complementary wickets orleavesISZ fixed on operating I other wicket.

shafts or spindles I63, I64 adjacent the upper and lower edges of the passage. These wicket valve sections I62 may be of sheet metal suitably secured on their operating shafts, and in closed position they lie in substantially the same plane transversely of the discharge passage, with the space between the meeting edges of the wickets substantially closed, generally as shown in Fig. 3 wherein the wickets are indicated as being in almost fully closed position. These wickets are movable to an open position substantially at right angles to closed position; and in this open position, the wickets are disposed substantially parallel to the upper and lower Walls of the discharge passage. The two wickets may be actuated simultaneously to desired position through meshing gear segments I63a and Ma on the shafts I63 and I64 and a suitable common actuating lever.

The adjacent edges of the wickets which substantially meet each other in closed position are of deeply indented outline to provide a serrated or tooth formation, and the teeth of both wickets are of the same shape and size and with the teeth of one wicket alternating with those of the As the wickets move from fully closed position, an opening of extended zigzag formation, indicated at I65 in Fig. 3, is formed, providing for the passage of air over a limited but linearly extended area across the full width of the discharge passage and across almost the full height of this passage; and as the wickets are moved toward fully open position, the effective opening continues to extend across the full width and substantially the full height of the passage.

This arrangement provides that under all partly open conditions of the controlling valve device, air is discharged from the fan to the cleaning device throughout an area extending across the full width of the discharge passage and substantially the full height of the passage, the effect of this arrangement being that there are no adverse effects from eddy currents that might result from ordinary forms of valve control, and the air in the discharge passage beyond the controlling valve readily assumes the condition of a body of air of uniform pressure throughout the full cross section of the discharge portion of the passage, this pressure being dependent upon the degree of valve opening. And the fact that this uniform flow of air is available at any desired pressure, dependent upon the degree of valve opening, insures most beneficial results in the cleaning of the grain.

During the operation of the apparatus and under the effect of the shaking motion of the cleaning screens and the current of air discharged by the fan I56 across the screens, dust and dirt are blown away through the discharge from the separator housing, and the clean grain passes through the screens. The larger particles of straw and unthreshed grain heads pass over the rake I66 extending from the rear edge of the upper shaking screen to the discharge from the separator housing. Most of the unthreshed or partly threshed heads are recovered by reason of these heavier particles dropping through the tines of and from the rake into the housing I61 of the screw conveyer I68 having an operating shaft I69, the lighter straw particles and chaff being carried, through the shaking motion and under the influence of the air blast, to the discharge from the separator housing.

As the threshed grain drops through the several superposed screens, the shaking action thereof, in conjunction with the airblast, is effective to carry any grain bearing tailings over the rear edge of the screens whence they drop into the casing of conveyer I68.

The opposite end of the conveyer housing I61 communicates, at the farther side of the separator housing, with the housing I1I of an inclined bucket elevator or conveyer I12, in the .form of a flexible belt or chain passing over a driving pulley or sprocket mounted on the end of the shaft I69 of the conveyer I68 and over a sprocket or pulley mounted at the upper end of the elevator housing I1I.

The upper end of the elevator housing is provided with a discharge spout I13 which discharges material to the feed inlet I14 of a secondary cleaning device comprising a longitudinally extending housing in front of the separator housing. The secondary cleaner, or recleaner, is mounted on oscillating links, indicated at I85, so as to permit shaking the recleaner device by a. pitman rod I86 connected to a link I and the shaking lever H3, at the connection II5.

The grain falling into the housing I52 of the conveyer I53 is conveyed through the latter and through a suitable extension thereof, preferably formed beneath or integral with the inclined bottom wall I88 of the grain receiving bin I6, the grain discharging into the lower end of the housing I89 of a bucket or like elevating conveyer I9I, the grain receiving well portion thereof, indicated at I90, being disposed at the forward edge of the bin I6 and supported by the bottom of the bin. The body portion of the conveyer housing is preferably arranged within and supported by the bin, and the upper end of the housing of the elevating conveyer is preferably provided with a suitable spout arrangement for discharging the grain to the bin or other receptacle. This conveyer is actuated by a driving shaft I92.

Power for operating the various mechanisms of the apparatus may be derived from a power source or shaft suitably supported on the frame and which may be connected in driving relation to the shaft I54 of the screw conveyer I53.

Power is supplied from the rear end of the shaft I54, through a drive, indicated in Fig. 2, including a V-belt 240 cooperating with a V- pulley 24I on the shaft I54, a V-pulley 242 on the shaft I69 of the conveyer I68, 9. V-pulley 243 on the shaft I51 of the fan I56 and a V-pulley 245 on the driving shaft I 36 of the grain drag I35, this driving connection serving to drive the conveyer I68 and the driving pulley or sprocket of the elevating conveyer I12, the fan I56, and the grain drag, all in the desired direction of rotation, with but one crossing turn, indicated at 241, of the belt. An adjustable idler pulley 248 is mounted on the side wall of the separator housing and serves to establish the desired driving tension on the belt 240; and through an operating lever 249 on which the shaft of idler pulley 248 is mounted, the tension of the belt may be adjusted or wholly relieved, as when the apparatus is to be out of operation for some time.

The shaft I36 is provided at each end thereof with an eccentric connection to pitmans 25I, one at each side of the separator housing, the other end of these pitmans being connected to the lower ends of the shaker arms II3 which impart the desired shaking movement to the grain rack and the cleaning device MI, and, through the pitman rod I86, to the secondary cleaner. The sheave 245 may be used as a portion of one of these eccentric connections to theadjacent pit,-

man v The elevating conveye'r l9! in the grain bin is driven by a V-pulley or sprocket 254 on.the driving shaft I92 of the conveyer and drivingly connected to. a corresponding pulley-or sprocket 256. on the forward end of the drive shaft I54. The diameters of the various driving and driven pulleys are so selectedas to give the desired normal speeds of rotation to the driven shafts; Further adjustment of the speeds of the individual driven shafts may be secured through theuse offV-groove pulleys of known design wherein provisions are made for adjusting the width of the spacebetween the side. walls of the belt groove,

thusppermitting the driving belt to sink to variable distances in the groove and thereby providing-at will a considerable range, of effective pitch diameters of the sheaves. V y .It should be understood that features and operating effects-of the invention'disclosed hereinthe othenand said members having cooperative edge portions of deeply indented outline to form spaced teeth thereon, with the teethof one memabovehave definite commercial applications and utility other than in the particular. apparatus described 7 or in the specific combinations with 1. In athreshing apparatus, a device wherein threshed grain is cleanedthroughremoval of dust and like material thereirom,'and means for supplying a-controllable current of air to said cleaning device and comprising ga' conduit through which said air passes to said cleaning device, and adjustablevalve means in said conduit operative to vary the efiective area of a portion of the air' passage while insuring the passage of said air through said valve means over an area extending throughout a major portion of one dimension of the conduit and at least one-third of the full distance of the dimension of said conduit'at right angles to said first dimension even when the effective opening provided through said valve desired to secure by Letters J depth greater than one-third of the'dimens'ion of said member atright angles to its pivotal axis means is a minimum, said valve means comprisingcooperative members one of which is movable toward and away from the other, said members having cooperative edge portions of deeply indented outline to form spaced teeth thereon, with the teeth of one member substantially closing the spaces between the teeth of the other memher when said valve means is in a position to sub stantially fully obstruct the passage of air through the conduit.

2. In a threshing or like apparatus, a device for supplying a controllable current of air for cleaning or like purpose and comprising aiconduit through which the air passes, and adjustable valve means for said conduit operative to vary the amount of air passing through said valve means while insuring the passage of the air therethrough over an area extending throughout substantially the full distance of onedimension and with intermediate portions of said area extending throughout a major portion of the full,

distance of another dimension at right angles to said first dimension of said conduit even when the opening provided through said valve means is reduced to a minimum, said valve means comprising cooperative members one of which is swmgable on a pivotal axis toward and away from bar substantially closing the spaces between the teeth of the other member when said valvemeans in a positionto substantially fully obstruct the passage of air-through saidvalve means.v

' 3. In a threshing apparatusadevice'iorcleaning grain separated :ins'aid apparatus, and vventi v- V lating means for supplying a controllable current 1 of air to said cleaningdevice-and comprising ra conduit'throug'hlwhich said air passesto said cleaning device, and adjustable valve means in said conduit operative to vary'the amount pf air" a passing therethrough and comprising a pair ofpivoted member's swingable on spaced axes toward and from'each other to vary the effective area 1 of theair passage between said members, the

opposing edges of said members being deeply serrated-with the serrationsof one member sub-- stantially closing the spaces"between' serrations oi the other member when said members are in position to substantially close the airpassage through said-valve means, and means for simultaneously actuating saidvalve rnernbers toward open and closed positions. ;J

4. In a threshing or like apparatus, a device for supplying a controllable currentof air for, I

cleaning or like purposes, comprising a conduit through which said air passes/and adjustable valve'means' in said conduit operative to vary the" amount of air passing therethrough and com prising a pair of pivoted members swingable 'to'-"] -ward 'and fromeach other on 'spacedsubstam' I tially parallel axes to vary the effective areaof the air passage between saidmembers, the opposing edges of said members being serrated to a with i the serrations] of one member substantially closing the spaces between serrations of the other member when said members are in'position to substantially close the air passage through said Valve means, and means for actuating said valve memberstoward open and closed positions.

5. In a threshing apparatus, a mechanism for cleaning grainseparated in saidapparatus, said cleaning mechanism comprising ascreening device, and ventilating means for supplying-a controllable current of air across said screening device and comprising a conduit through which said air passes to'said screening device, and adjustable valve means in said conduit operative to vary the amount of air passing therethrough andcomprising a pair of pivoted members swingable onparallel axes onopposite sides of the passage through said conduit and movable about said axes toWard'and .from each other to vary theeifective area-of theairspassage, the opposing edges of said members being serrated, with the serrations of one member substantially closing the spaces between serrations of the' other member when said members arein position to substantially close the air passage through said valve means, and the serrations'of each member being of a depth greater than one-half of the distance 7 between the pivotal axes of said member, and.

means for simultaneously actuating both ,7 said valve members."

6. In a threshing or like apparatus, a device I for supplying a controllable'amount of air comprising a plurality of'cooperative valve elements adjustable toward and from each other in anair passage or conduit, said valve elements havingcooperative edge portions of deeply indented out,-

line with the indentations of one valve element so disposed with respect to the indentations of the other valve element that they may be substantially closed by the projections or teeth formed by the indentations of said other valve element, and the opening through the valve elements between the cooperative edges thereof extending throughout substantially the full extent of one dimension of the passage established by the valve elements when in full open position and at least one-third of another dimension of such passage at right angles to such first dimension throughout the full range of control of the valve elements from maximum to minimum open condition thereof, whereby the body of air on the discharge side of the valve device is caused to be of substantially uniform pressure throughout its full cross section independently of the degree of adjustment of the controlling device.

7. In a threshing apparatus, a mechanism for cleaning grain separated in said apparatus, said cleaning mechanism comprising a screening device, and ventilating means for supplying a controllable current of air across said screening device and comprising a conduit through which said air passes to said screening device, and adjustable valve means in said conduit operative to vary the elT-ective area of a portion of the air passage therethrough and comprising a pair of pivoted members swingable on parallel axes on opposite sides of the passage through said conduit and movable about said axes toward and from each other to vary the effective area of the air passage, the opposing edges of said members being serrated, with the serrations of one member substantially closing the spaces between serrations of the other member when said membersare in position to substantially close the air passage through said valve means, and the serrations of each member being of a depth greater than one-half of the distance across said conduit,

.ity of valve elements associated with the conduit and swingable on pivotal axes toward and from each other, the free edges of each of said valve elements being deeply serrated to provide spaced teeth of a width tapering toward the free edges of the valve element, and the teeth of one valve element being opposite the spaces between adjacent teeth of the cooperative valve element and effective to substantially close saidspaces when the valve means is in minimum open position.

9. In a threshing or like apparatus'a device for supplying a controllable current of fluid through a conduit for cleaning or like purpose and comprising a valve means including a plurality of valve members associated with the conduit, one of said valve members being movable toward and from closed position relative to another valve member, cooperative edge portions of each of said valve members being deeply serrated to provide spaced teeth of a width tapering toward the free edge of the valve member and a depth greater than one-thirdof the dimension of the conduit at right angles to the direction of the depth of the teeth when said valve members are in closed position, and the teeth of the one valve member being opposite the spaces between the teeth of the other valve member and effective to substantially close said spaces when the valve means is in substantially fully closed position.

WAL'I'ER R. DRAY. 

